Village Roadshow returned money to event promoters One Cube so that the 8700 tickets that were sold could be refunded.

Village Roadshow boss Graham Burke is confident that the opening of Wet'n'Wild in Sydney would bolster the group's earnings in the long-term, despite the new theme park contributing to a 46 per cent drag in half-year profit.

The theme park and movie making group made a $18 million net profit for the six months to December 31, compared with $33.5 million for the previous corresponding period.

The company attributed the decline partly to about $10 million in costs associated with the opening of Wet'n'Wild in western Sydney.

''If you take that away it's not a bad result,'' Mr Burke said, adding he expected full-year earning to be slightly higher than last year's $50.9 million.

He said Wet'n'Wild Sydney had already exceeded expectations.

Mr Burke, who is co-chairman and co-chief executive with Robert Kirby, was confident the result wasn't just a temporary boost due to the opening.

''We have been managing theme parks for a long time. Our exit studies show people had a blast, they love it and enjoy it," he said.

''We have spent a lot of money to invest in the building blocks of our future. The opening of Wet'n'Wild Sydney has been a huge success and will pave the way to our future growth prospects in China and South East Asia.''

The company's film distribution division posted the biggest softening, with its operating profit slipping from $27.2 million to $19.8 million, or 27.2 per cent.

Mr Burke said the plunge was mainly due to timing. He said a number of big budget films were scheduled for release in the second half, which would deliver stronger earnings for the year.

The Wolf of Wall Street, which has grossed more than $308 million worldwide, opened in January after being initially slated for a November/December Australian release, Mr Burke said.

Other top films to be released this half include The Lego Movie, which made $US69.1 million ($A77.33 million) in its opening weekend in the US, and The Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise.

''A number of the very big and important films are in the second half and I think they will all give a boost to the distribution figures, which is the biggest softening in the six months, which is purely a matter of timing or as one bright spark said 'a tale of two halves','' Mr Burke said.

Village maintained its interim dividend at 13 cents per share, payable on March 31.